New-wave QBs help Manziel's NFL stock

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) gets past Oklahoma defensive back Tony Jefferson (1) and the rest of the Sooner defense for a first down during the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl college football game, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013, in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) gets past Oklahoma...

COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin, on the heels of the Aggies' exceptional first season in the Southeastern Conference, has caught up on a little NFL playoff action of late. And the performances he has witnessed from San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick and Seattle's Russell Wilson have looked awfully familiar - to Loftin and every other Aggie.

"To watch the play develop and then the improvisation that goes on is extraordinary," Loftin said.

He was speaking specifically of the Houdini-like skills of A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, and comparing them to those of the young dual-threat quarterbacks who have made waves of late in the pros. Kaepernick will lead the 49ers into Atlanta on Sunday for the NFC title game, while Wilson bowed out last week in a 30-28 loss to the Falcons.

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Meanwhile, Manziel, following the 11-2 Aggies' 41-13 throttling of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl two weeks ago, also has soaked in the strong showings of the NFL youngsters, including 2011 Heisman winner, Baylor's Robert Griffin III of Washington, who, like Wilson, also turned in an excellent rookie season.

"The way they play impacts my life, definitely, in the future," Manziel said Thursday. "Watching them, you see some of the things that have changed in the NFL, with the read option and where (teams) can do some things with a mobile quarterback."

Kaepernick set an NFL record for a quarterback with 181 yards rushing in the 49ers' triumph over Green Bay last weekend, in addition to throwing for 263 yards. That sounds familiar. Manziel rushed for an FBS-record (by a QB) 229 yards and passed for another 287 in the rout of the Sooners.

Draft-eligible next year

"You only saw that in Michael Vick and a few other guys in years prior," Manziel said of what the fleet-footed newbie quarterbacks are doing in the NFL. "For me - even though that's down the road and not really a focus right now - I still continue to look at that."

Manziel redshirted in 2011 and will be eligible for the draft following the 2013 season. No matter when he turns pro - and Aggies of course are hoping it's in 2016 - his record-setting showing in the SEC combined with the emergence of Wilson, Kaepernick and Griffin have boosted his future pro stock.

"It's kind of like if a McDonald's opens somewhere, and suddenly three or four similar places open right around it," said Gil Brandt, the longtime Dallas Cowboys executive and current NFL.com analyst. "Football franchises are no different. We're a copycat league."

Brandt cited the example of the Cowboys' drafting of track star Bob Hayes in 1964. He quickly had success in the NFL, so Miami later drafted Jimmy Hines, a fellow Olympic gold medalist who ultimately failed in football.

Brady impressed

For his part, Manziel captured the football world's notice this past season with an SEC-record 5,116 yards of total offense. Among those who got his attention was one of the NFL's all-time greats in New England quarterback Tom Brady, who fits the more classic bill of an NFL quarterback as a tall, strong-armed passer.

"He's a one-man show," Brady told Boston radio station WEEI of Manziel. "It's going to be fun to watch him for many, many years to come. When you can have that athletic ability and the way he can find open receivers - it's incredible how he's able to move and make good decisions. That's always the most challenging thing."